Did you know ...?(Interesting facts about bananas and how they affect our brain and body from a physiological psych class professor at CCNY)Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fibre, so a banana gives an instant, sustained andsubstantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.According to extensive research, bananas can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions such as: - Depression: According to a recent survey (undertaken by MIND) amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. PMS: The vitamin B6 the banana containsregulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood. Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so help in cases of anemia. Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. Somuch so that the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school in England were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learningby making pupils more alert. Constipation: High in fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem withoutresorting to laxatives. Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and rehydrates your system. Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, eating a banana can bring soothing relief. Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness. Mosquito bites: Try rubbing on an insect bitewith the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it works to reduce swelling and irritation. Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. In a survey of 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foodsevery two hours to keep levels steady. Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only rawfruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralises over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach. Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature ofexpectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan. Smoking and Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6 and B12 vitamins they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalise the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack. Strokes: According to research in the New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death bystrokes by as much as 40%! Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, yellowside out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape! Banana’s have four times the protein of an apple, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. The banana is also rich in potassium. Never put a banana in a refrigerator, and to ripen quickly, place a banana in a brown paper bag. The information on bananas provided here is for educational purposes only and not intended as a guide for diagnosing or treating health problems. Health disorders should be treated by an appropriate health therapist. A bee produces only two teaspoons of honey during its entire lifetime—one teaspoon for its own consumption and the other for the hive. It’s incredible to consider that two teaspoons of honey represents a being’s total life’s work and toil. A good reason not to waste honey if you eat this precious resource.

A species of dolphin is born naturally blind in the Indus and Ganges river in South Asia. These dolphins have a highly sophisticated sonar system and swim on only one side of their body.“In the 1800’s, cats were used to deliver mail. In 1879 in Belgium, 37 cats were used to deliver mail to villages, however they found that the cats were not disciplined enough to do this.” (Anyone who knows cats, would probably realize it’s not a question of discipline. It’s just that a cat couldn’t give a rat’s bottom about mail in general! Maybe they should have attached a piece of fish to the mailbox?)There is a doggy disco held in Italy every year, where owners can dance with their dogs!! (Interesting...I’m not saying a thing.)A coyote helped save a lost child. According to Animal Planet, the child wandered away from his home and rescuers found him because he was crying and coyotes were responding to his distress signal by howling. The rescuers followed the sound of the coyotes until they located the child. Amazing! Potatoes were first cultivated in about 200 B.C. by Peru’s Inca Indians. These early potatoes ranged in size (from small nut to apple-sized) and colours (red, gold to blue, even black). The Incas used raw slices to help heal broken bones, prevent rheumatism and eaten with other foods to aid indigestion. The Incas measured time in correlating units according to how long it took potatoes to grow. When potatoes were first introduced to Europe, this member of the deadly nightshade family was believed to be a “dangerous aphrodisiac”. Beware of the potato! :)Scientists have discovered that dolphins call each other by name—just like humans. According to scientific studies, dolphins learn to come up with their own specific whistle when they are a few weeks old—it’s one way other dolphins recognize them. Scientists say it is extremely rare for species to use individual ‘names’ to communicate. Dr Vincent Janik of St Andrews University said, “I think it is a very exciting discovery because it means that these animals have evolved the same abilities as humans. Now we know they have labels for each other like we do.”Scientists have found DNA in living Africans that appears to date back to the very first human beings. Geneticists say these ancient DNA fragments can only be found in the Khoisan ethnic group, most notably, the San people (Kalahari Bushmen). This scientific evidence indicates that all humans have originated from the same African ancestors. It goes to show that humankind IS one big family—albeit a great big dysfunctional family!Daily, the human race grows by about 214, 000 people.Graffiti is the Italian word for “scratched drawings”.The blue whale weighs 50 tonnes at birth, and as much as 150 tonnes fully grown. A person uses approximately 57 sheets of toilet paper each day. Great reason to use recycled or plantation-sourced toilet paper.An average woman has 17 square feet of skin. Gross! Who does this research—Hannibal the Cannibal?

In the days of wooden sailing ships, pirates, and other sailors, would get their ears pierced because they believed it would improve their hearing. (What the…?!)It was accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago, that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and since their calendar was lunar-based, this period was called the “honey month” or what we know as the “honeymoon”.

One brow wrinkle is the result of 200,000 frowns.Different coloured eyes are not caused by different colourants in the iris. It is all down to the amount of brown colourant, melanin, Generally, people who have little melanin in their skin also have little in their eyes, causing them to appear blue. The more melanin you have in your iris, the darker your eyes look.Adult human hair can stretch 25% of its length without breaking.The strength of all the hairs on the human head can support the weight of approximately 100 people. (Just don’t try this while your hair is still attached to your head!)Our eyelid is composed of skin only one millimetre thick. We close our eyelids to blink, an action that stems from our aquatic origins hundreds of millions of years ago. When we lived in water our eyes were kept moist, but in air we need to protect our eyes from drying out. Each blink covers the eyeball with mildly antiseptic tears that reduce the risk of infection to the eye. These tears also carry oxygen to the cornea of the eye. Valves of the human heart are as thick as a single piece of tissue paper.The palms of the hands and soles of the feet contain the most sweat glands in the body.A man who spends five minutes a day shaving, starting at the age of fifteen, will by the age of sixty have spent an estimated 1368 hours of his life on this chore. That’s nearly sixty days and nights of nonstop shaving.Our iris pattern is unique. The IriScan plots 266 points on the iris. This method of recognition is even more accurate than fingerprinting.Ravens and crows are extremely intelligent. In ancient times they were revered as messengers of the gods, and linked to the wing-sandaled Hermes (known as Mercury to the Romans). Ravens and crows play with their young (a behaviour seldom observed in birds). It is not uncommon for a crow to die from grief should their life-long mate die. Ravens are slightly larger than crows. Both were held in high esteem by the Celts and Vikings and symbolized motherhood and nurturing.